Bathtub



E. RAEDER Jan. 23, 1968 BATHTUB Filed April 27, 1.965

INVENTOR. EskiL Raeder diiorngy United States Patent 3,364,504 BATHTUB Eskil Raeder, De Gamlas Vag 3, Enskede, Sweden Filed Apr. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 451,253 Claims priority, ap lication Sweden, June 17, 1964, 7,365/64 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-173) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bathtub particularly adapted for use by invalids or incapacitated persons to facilitate the entry of such persons into and their removal from the tub, and a method by which the persons can be placed into and removed from the tub. The tub has a bottom wall having an upwardly inclined portion starting approximately at the transverse center line of the tub and extending upwardly from said line on an easy slant up to and terminating at the top edge of the tub, the angle of said inclined part of the bottom wall being no less than degrees and no more than 40 degrees, the patient being slid from a stretcher down said inclined portion of the bottom wall to enter the tub.

This invention relates to bath tubs and more particularly to a type of tub especially adapted for use by invalids or incapacitated persons who find the entry into and the exit from the conventional bath tub either diflicult or impossible even when aided or assisted by others.

conventionally-shapedRbath tubs have certain forms not only for the purpose of conserving water, but also to facilitate the assumption of comfortable positions when bathing in them. However, the shape of the conventional tub is such that when hospital patients, invalids or disabled persons attempt to enter or leave the tubs considerable .difliculty as well as pain is often encountered. In hospitals for example, a great deal of effort is encountered by nurses or orderlies in placing a patient in a tub and lifting him out of it, particularly when the patient must be placed upon a stretcher after bathing as well as when he has to be brought to the bath tub on a stretcher and lifted therefrom into the tub.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a bath tub so shaped and formed that the effort involved in bodily lifting the patient and placing him in the tub will be greatly reduced, and it also involves a method for handling the patient during the placement into the tub and the removal of the patient therefrom.

With this and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a bath tub made in accordance with the invention, with some parts fragmentarily shown and other parts shown in section; and

FIG. 2 is a somewhat similar view of another embodiment.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, 1 indicates the floor or other supporting surface on which the tub is supported, and the tub, generally indicated at 3, is supported from the floor on any suitable supporting structure, such as a frame 5, carried by posts 2 or other uprights or supporting elements.

The tub has three vertical walls, the end wall being indicated at 6, one of the side walls being shown at 7, and the opposite similar side wall being disclosed at 8. These walls terminate at the top of the frame '5. These 3,364,504 Patented Jan. 23, 1968 vertical walls have a slight inclination from vertical as is common in most bath tubs. The fourth wall of the tub, or that which constitutes the floor or bottom of the tub, is shown at 10 and for a substantial part of its length is inclined at an angle to horizontal as is clearly seen at 17 in the drawing.

The forward terminal portion 11 of the inclined part 17 of the bottom wall 10 of the tub may be in the form of a flange which merges with the part 12 of the supporting frame or is so flanged as to be fitted over it so that it provides for a smooth entering point for the patient. This terminal part of the inclined wall 17 is thus located at the upper edge of the tub. The tub is supported at the required height to enable a patient to be easily transferred from a stretcher directly into the tub, or the supporting means for the tub might be made adjustable to enable the tub to be positioned at the required height as needed for particular cases. The inclination of the part 17 of the bottom wall 10 and a horizontal plane as shown by the angle 14 should not exceed an angle of 40 degrees. A suitable angle is 25 degrees. These angles are dependent upon certain circumstances and especially upon the agility of the person using the tub and the water capacity of the tub. The lowest value of the angle appears to be about 10 degrees. The bottom wall 10 can be formed in the vertical longitudinal plane with a concave part or the whole can be formed concave or convex. The inclined part 17 of the bottom wall starts at about the transverse center line of the tub, but this may be varied.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the bottom wall there indicated at 10a, is formed with a concave part 15 and this merges with a convex part 16, which curvature is provided in said bottom wall to enable the tub to conform with back shape.

When using a tub of the character described, the person or patient to be bathed may possibly be one that is required to be moved to the tub while borne on a stretcher and be thus brought to the tub while in a horizontal position. When such a patient is brought to the tub he can be readily slid directly from the stretcher over the entering end 11 of the tub to move down into the tub to reach the deeper part of the tub or that part thereof which is located toward the opposite end of the tub. The patient rests in the tub with the upper portion of his body and particularly his head, against the inclined part 17 of the bottom wall of the tub. Since this inclined part of the tub acts as a slide and permits the patient to he slid into the tub as distinguished from being bodily lifted into the tub the patient will not be subjected to any pain or dis comfort which might be caused by his being bodily lifted and deposited into the tub.

To facilitate the sliding of the patient into the tub, it is desirable to employ a so-called slide cloth on the stretcher beneath the patient. When the patient is brought to the tub, this cloth can be extended over the entering end 11 of the tub from the stretcher and the patient can be slid along the cloth, and which will constitute a layer between him and the wall of the tub at least until the patient reaches the water in the tub.

When the patient is to be removed from the tub, the slide cloth can then be placed under the patient and the patient as well as the cloth are then slid. out of the tub and onto the stretcher. The patient can be engaged under the arms while being slid out of the tub and onto the stretcher.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that there is provided an improved means by which a patient can be placed in and removed from a bath tub without pain or discomfort likely to occur when a conventional bath tub is employed.

Having thus described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto,

but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. The method of placing and removing an incapacitated person in and from a bath tub comprising, utilizing a tub having a bottom wall provided with an inclined portion terminating at one end at a height substantially that of the height at which a stretcher is located and on which the patient is brought to the tub, and in which the said inclination of the bottom wall of the tub to horizontal is within 40 degrees, sliding the patient directly from the stretcher down the inclined part of the bottom wall of the tub to enter the tub, and bringing the patient back to the stretcher by reversing the sliding movement.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a slide cloth is placed between the patient and the stretcher, which cloth is slid, together with the patient, partly into the bath tub.

3. A bath tub primarily intended for incapacitated persons or invalids comprising, a supporting frame, a tub arranged in the frame, the tub having three substantially vertical walls and a bottom wall, the bottom wall including a relatively long inclined portion having an angle of approximately 25 degrees to horizontal, said inclined portion extending for at least one half of the length of the tub and provided at its higher end with a smooth flange fitting over the frame and providing an entering surface over which an incapacitated person can be slid down the inclined portion and enter into the tub without forcible contact with the bottom of the same.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 962,970 6/1910 Musselman 4173 1,929,480 10/1933 Cappuccio 4173 1,962,076 6/1934 Jadkowski 4-173 2,079,770 5/1937 Robinson 4-173 X FOREIGN PATENTS 897,745 5/1962 Great Britain.

HAROLD J. GROSS, Primary Examiner. 

